Increased COVID-19 Precautions

At this time, we have had zero on-campus COVID-19 exposures. I remain confident in Sunny Hollow’s COVID-19 safety plan and in our ability to keep on-campus learning safe for children and staff.  Our plan is working well, but will be tested as community COVID-19 cases continue to rise. For our on-campus plan to work, we will need the help of each and every household with a Sunny Hollow on campus learner this winter. Here at Sunny Hollow, we are planning to continue in-person learning, an opportunity that most children in Minnesota do not have this winter. Maintaining this opportunity will require that the families of our on campus learners go above and beyond what is being asked for most Minnesotans. I am proud of our flexible plan that allows moving in and out of distance learning to suit the needs of individual students and their families. I

Given this, a new question will be added to the daily health screen for on-campus learners about whether they or a household member has shared indoor or outdoor space (outside of Sunny Hollow) unmasked for more than 15 minutes with anyone outside their immediate household. We will adjust this after December 18 based on what best practices are at that time. We will also expand our other daily health screen questions to include household members. We will continue to use the Minnesota Department of Health’s “COVID19 Decision Tree for People in Schools, Youth, and Child Care Programs” as a guide. However, our school’s situation is unique in many ways, and we will treat this guidance as a floor not a ceiling, erring on the side of being more cautious than strictly required by law.

We will send the email with the daily health screening form to all families on Monday morning, even if you opted out of receiving them. Please make sure you use the new health screen.

• Do not gather, except with immediate household members, in accordance with state mandate. 
  • Do not engage in any social gatherings, shared meals, or “play dates” with members of other households at this time.
  • If anyone from outside your household needs to enter your home, everyone in the space should wear masks and physically distance.
    • If your family needs to employ a sitter/nanny from another household, that person, and any household members over the age of 2, should wear masks.
      • Private space should be arranged for the sitter/nanny to take meals/breaks away from household members.
  • If any person from your household needs to enter another home, everyone in the space should mask and physically distance.
  • If you ride share or carpool with members of another household, everyone should wear a mask in the vehicle.
  • If there is a grandparent, nanny, or other person with whom the household has regular in-person contact, two options are available:
    • That person’s entire household will count as part of the Sunny Hollow student’s household, and must follow all Sunny Hollow COVID-19 related policies
    • That person will need to be considered a non household member, in which case social/optional gathering should be paused. Necessary interactions, such as babysitting, should be masked and without shared meals/snacks, as per above.
• Do not eat or drink in shared spaces outside of your household.
  • Indoor drinking and dining will be paused in Minnesota for 4 weeks due to the high risk of COVID transmission when unmasked people share indoor space.
    • Do not eat or drink indoors with other households in private settings, in out of state restaurants/bars, or in other shared indoor spaces.
  • Take-out, curbside pick-up, and delivery are quite low risk. Do continue to patronize local businesses and enjoy a variety of delicious foods at home with your children.
  • Refrain from eating with co-workers in shared lunch or break rooms if you work outside the home.
• Do not share space with people who are exercising
  • Most gyms and in person youth sports are paused for 4 weeks due to the high risk of COVID transmission when people exhale forcefully around other people.
• Children and household members should avoid situations where fewer than 95% of individuals are masked. 
  • Shopping, haircuts, and similar indoor activities have been shown to be low risk so long as there is good mask use and hand hygiene.
  • When at a mall or other public space, look around to be sure mask compliance is at least 95%
  • Should you attend a wedding or funeral, look around to make sure mask compliance is at least 95%.
    • Do not attend a reception or gathering associated with the event.
• Closely evaluate all exposures to other households, even if masks are worn. If there is an option for remote participation in shared activities, take it, or consider pausing the activity for now.
  • In person learning means children from several households are spending the bulk of the day together. Reduction of each household’s total contacts is key to maintaining the safety of this classroom congregation.
  • Do not delay medical or dental care due to COVID-19 concerns. Current data suggests that visiting a doctor, hospital, or dentist is quite low risk.

Take care,